Kampala — EDUCATION is one of the local government's major sectors. It takes at least 60% of every district's budget.

In 1997, universal primary education (UPE) was introduced and decentralised. In 2006, local leaders were asked to handle customised performance targets for head-teachers in government schools.

The district service commission appoints most education personnel, while the district contracts committees carry out education procurements. Teachers' salaries and schools' capitation grants are channelled through the districts.

According to education minister Namirembe Bitamazire LCs are also the supervisors of education sector. "You have to ask for the schools' records, know the number of students in each school and how each school performs."

According to Bitamazire, LCs have the powers to visit schools without warning. "Find out if students are being taught and check if the construction of a building meets the required standards," she says.

According to the set up, chief administrative officers are responsible for the sector.

"They sign the annual performance assessment agreements which are set against achievement targets in January or February of every calendar year," Francis Lubanga, the permanent secretary in the education ministry, says.

Assistant CAOs assess the teachers' performance at the end of the year. However, 13 years down the road, decentralisation has yielded mixed results.

Enrolment has grown and more classrooms have been constructed, but the quality of education has dropped. There has also been massive embezzlement of education funds.

Decentralisation and UPE

LCs are at the pivot of the system and are responsible for ascertaining the number of teachers and pupils in a given school.

In most cases, LC1s are members of the school management committee of primary schools. This, therefore, gives them a better understanding of the schools' affairs.

Before UPE, enrolment in primary schools was less than two million pupils. It went up to seven million in 1997 but has since dropped and stands at about 6.8 million.

Enrolment should be going up, however the dropout rate is still high.

Community leaders have also not performed well in mobilisation.

District leaders have the power to set up bylaws in order to deal with parents who do not take their children to school.

In districts like Moyo, Tororo, Lyantonde and Nebbi these laws have been drawn up. But leaders say they can be best enforced if UPE is made compulsory.

At least sh5b is lost annually on ghost pupils and teachers. The Kaliro LC5 chairman, Elijah Kagoda blames it on the education ministry. "We have carried out several head counts to weed out ghosts, but the ministry brings them back." Bitamazire, however, says it is the district education officers' responsibility.

The existence of ghost employees is also blamed on poor facilitation. "We do not even have a bicycle. How can we ensure that schools are teaching effectively? asks Manafwa LC5 chairman Charles Walimbwa.

Co-funding education programmes is also a problem. "There are no funds to co-fund the sector, especially after graduated tax was scrapped," says Amuria LC5 chairman Julius Ochen.

Bitamazire says the Government dispatches UPE funds to districts, so local councils should make sure schools receive their funds on time.

Classroom construction

When UPE took off in 1997, the Government introduced the school facilitation grant for construction of classrooms and teachers' houses.

"We managed to lower the pupil-classroom ratio from 100:1 in 1997 to around 55:1 in 2005," Bitamazire says.

However, billions have been lost in the implementation process. Tororo RDC Mpimbaza Hashaka says: "District leaders connive with contractors and ask for bribes before tenders are awarded. This results in shoddy work."

"The scrapping of the school facilitation grant has affected classroom construction," Masaka LC5 chairman Vincent Ssempijja says.

Overall, the decentralisation of education was good. However, the inability of many districts to carry out their work effectively has created many questions.

Standards in UPE schools are low, mainly as a result of poor supervision and corruption in the tendering process.

Although education was decentralised, the central government still controls the funds. Because of these weaknesses, the President and the education ministry have hinted at re-centralising the appointment of key district personnel.